Top Ten Things I Have Learned From a Month of Juicing
I got a The Juice Fountain Compact from Breville for Christmas and to be honest it one of the best gifts I have ever received. I have used it every day I have been in town, and for the last month have done at least 2 Juices a day. I may not be a juice veteran like Joe Cross of the Fat Sick and Nearly Dead 1 and 2 Fame, is going on 8 years of juicing. But I hope to get there some day, one juice at a time. So here are the Top Ten Things I Have Learnt From a Month of Daily Juicing!
1. You can juice almost any fruit and vegetable!
(Not Banana or Avocado save those for smoothies)
2. Do not give up on something the first time you do not like it!
The first time I did a leek it was giant, 3 inch diameter, 14 inches long and I combined it with 3 green onions. Way too much from the same family. I have since done one of the other almost every day and they work great and provide a lot of punch.
3. Try different fruits and vegetables!
Try something new, sweet potatoes are awesome in juice, lemon grass, fresh turmeric or ginger wow. Mix and match.
4. Find a balance.
Joe recommends and 80/20 balance, 80 % vegetables and 20% fruit and most of the time that works perfect. Occasionally you can reverse it for more of a desert beverage. Or if you are trying to get kids into it up the fruit to start and slowly scale it back.
5. If you are making up your own as you go keep track of what you are juicing!
I take a picture of my prepped ingredients, and my finished juice. That way I can share the really good ones, and do them again. I can also make modifications and make them better (See note above about combining leeks and green onions.).
6. You will be amazed by your energy and focus!
I have not had a coffee or black tea in 3 weeks. I really cannot believe the energy, focus and balance that fresh juice provides.
7. There are a lot of blogs, websites tweeters out there talking about juicing!
Check them out. But to be honest it is more fun to experiment. Use these resources as jumping off points. But also find your own way.
8. Try new things but use caution!
Do not go out and buy 30 new ingredients you have never tried juicing before. Each shopping trip pick up 2 or three things and slow expand your stock. You will find key ingredients you use over and over again and other you can interchange and switch out. For example I keep 2 or 3 of the following in the house at a time for my green juices, but not all at same time, kale, red kale, black kale, spinach, Swiss char, red char, collard greens, basil, dandelion greens. If I bought them all I would not get through them before they started to turn. Buy fewer items but shop more often.
9. Add some spices!
I have just started adding Jalapeno and Cayenne and chili peppers into juices. I have also tried mint, parsley, cilantro and more. Herbs can go a long way to changing the flavor and boosting the health benefits of your juices.
10. Juice On!
Experiment and have fun, get those fresh fruits and veggies into you. There is a rainbow of colors out there try and get some green, red, orange into yourself each and every day.And if you juice something that you think is great come back and share it!
I will continue to post new recipes from time to time on Saturday as I experiment with Smoothie and Juice recipes. And I collect mine and favourites from around the web you can find them shared here in a OneNote notebook, there are subsections for Juices, Smoothies, Gluten Free Options and Other.
